Louisville Communities LEAP Engagement: Improving Energy Efficiency in Affordable Housing

Summary

Louisville/Jefferson County, Kentucky, faces the challenge of energy affordability in its housing, with 8.51% of its 773,399 residents experiencing a high energy burden (over 6% of income). The city has ambitious goals, aiming for net-zero emissions by 2040 with a 50% reduction by 2030, and 100% clean energy community-wide by 2040. This NREL Communities LEAP engagement provided analysis on improving energy efficiency, particularly building envelopes, for affordable housing, with five workstreams including energy efficiency, policy, benchmarking, workforce, and financing analysis. ResStock modeling revealed that 65% of Louisville's homes were built before 1980, and nearly 70% have poor envelope ratings. Implementing a basic enclosure upgrade across all poorly rated homes could save an estimated $139 million annually in utility bills and reduce emissions by 637 million kgCO2e, contributing to a 21% overall reduction in residential building emissions. Payback periods for these upgrades, without incentives, range from 9-17 years but can drop by 60-78% with IRA-like rebates. Federal funding under the IRA provides significant support, with Kentucky allocated $67.3 million for Home Energy Performance-Based Rebates and $66.9 million for High-Efficiency Home Rebates, with minimums for low-income households. Louisville is also a Phase 1 winner of the DOE's Buildings Upgrade Prize, furthering efforts to improve energy efficiency in affordable housing and potentially reduce the 15-25% energy burden faced by very-low-income residents.

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Source Document

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